Abstract
The age of silicic tephra beds that have experienced a simple thermal history can be accurately and precisely determined by application of the isothermal plateau fission-track technique to hydrated glass shards. Age estimates obtained by this means compare very well with those based on co-existing mineral phases using the K—Ar, 40Ar/ 39Ar, external detector fission-track and thermoluminescence techniques. This concordance contradicts the popular belief that hydrated glass shards give unreliable ages. Distal tephra beds—many of which are difficult to date because of their fine grainsize, low abundance of crystals and common presence of detrital grains—are readily dated by the isothermal plateau glass-fission-track method. This new advance should greatly facilitate the development of detailed chronologies of tephra-bearing sedimentary sequences located far from volcanic centres.
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